Chapter 1620: Chapter 1620: The Price Varies from Person to Person
As the player level increases, accumulated personal wealth may become more and more, and some items that need to be carried along can only be stored in the luggage compartment, which is definitely small and not large. Like Xu Huo, even if he got that box just now, he could only leave it with Yan Jiayu.
So it’s inevitable for players to find a safehouse to store these things.
The beautiful female player said this map is useless because it is mostly a diagram for those two Rank-B players to store items. Using a transit map for demonstration is to prevent information leakage even if the map is lost. It’s not worth the effort to look for it, especially since players carry most of their valuable things with them.
“If you don’t want it, give it to me,” said Xu Huo.
The player with the dark face handed it to him.
Xu Huo took a quick look and then threw it into the luggage compartment.
The sky gradually darkened, the light was unclear, and the fog was thick. Buildings across the street appeared somewhat blurry. Some players had been sleeping since the afternoon and had not woken up yet, while others, who stayed awake until nightfall, began to feel a bit sleepy.
Since it was previously agreed that half of them would sleep at night while the other half were responsible for security, there was no disagreement among the players about resting. Except for those who really didn’t have suitable props for self-defense, most players would use site props or defense props before sleeping, although the time most defense props lasted was not very long, serving only as psychological comfort.
As more and more people fell asleep, those remaining, except for a few who had already slept during the day, sat blankly staring at the faces of those who were now sleeping.
“Why don’t you sleep as well?” Tong Qi said to Young Master Mo, who was clearly nodding off.
It was Scarred Glasses who slept the first night, and today marked the third day since entering the instance. Young Master Mo had almost gone three days without closing his eyes.
Scarred Glasses also urged him to rest. The two of them took turns resting, making them much safer than others without companions.
The beautiful female player and the dark-faced player next to them all went to sleep. Tong Qi indulged himself in organizing his newly acquired items and felt wide awake, while Chi Xian, playing with fungi, intentionally ignored people and clearly had no intention to sleep either.
Those awake in Zone 013 also fell asleep eventually, and by midnight, those who had slept during the day woke up again.
Seeing their surroundings, they felt nothing but a sense of fear, huddling silently together, shrinking into a corner.
Xu Huo went over to give them some food and then once more asked about the “Midsummer Night’s Galaxy” legend.
Among them was the Tan-skinned City dweller he had met on the first day.
The others dared not reach out, but the man willingly took the food and water from Xu Huo’s hands, distributing it to the others, saying, “We can still meet a good person or two, whether dead or alive, a hearty meal is always good.”
In Zone 013, people were not less hungry, but their fear of death outweighed other things. Seeing the Tan-skinned man eat without getting killed, they carefully ate their share, not daring to make a sound.
“Do you still want to hear a story today?” the Tan-skinned city dweller asked.
“No, today I want to hear about your dreams,” Xu Huo sat down beside them, “The dreams you had when you came here.”
The Tan-skinned man nodded, beginning to recount his various dreams from the past few days.
Unlike the short, changeable dreams of players, their sleep lasted longer, and so did their dreams. These were not like complete stories but like fragments of daily life. Additionally, the Tan-skinned man had slept three times, and all three times his dreams were connected. In the dream, he had a different identity—he was a handsome, wealthy pilot with a good family background.
This dream reached the part where the plane he was piloting encountered extreme weather, and the lives of hundreds were in his hands.
“Unfortunately, I woke up before it ended.”
The Tan-skinned city dweller sighed, appearing a bit confused as well, “Even in a dream where I am healthy, I didn’t know how to save the people on the plane. Everything seemed futile; perhaps the final outcome would be that we’d all die together.”
“Did you study aviation before?” Xu Huo asked.
The Tan-skinned man shook his head, “But in the dream, I could fly and knew how to take off and land.”
“Dreams aren’t reality; they don’t necessarily require professional knowledge to land a plane safely,” Xu Huo said.
The Tan-skinned man tugged at the corner of his lips, managing a difficult smile, “In dreams, you get what you wish for.”
The other four also shared their dreams shortly after, most related to their usual fantasies about a better life, mostly pleasant dreams. Only one had a nightmare; he was on a ship with a killer aboard as soon as the dream began. The ship drifted on the ocean with no escape.
This person encountered danger multiple times, but each time he miraculously escaped. Twice, the killer was right in front of him, yet inexplicably, they would slip on something or change direction.
This dreamer emphasized his feeling of escaping from death and the terror and dread he felt, but in reality, he subconsciously helped many people while fleeing. He even took the initiative to close an otherwise hard-to-close door when people hiding in a storage room were being pushed out.
“I return to that ship every time I fall asleep,” the man said, “The corpses and blood on board are rotting, and the killer is still running around. I don’t know whether he wants to kill everyone before stopping.”
Compared to others, his dream experience was not particularly pleasant, and in no way related to his daydreams. It was hardly considered a beautiful wish.
“I guess I will be killed in the dream,” the man said again, “Like those who never woke up from their sleep.”
The people nearby did not comfort him. After all, when they came in search of the “Midsummer Night’s Galaxy,” they were prepared for the worst.
Xu Huo brought up the example the Tan-skinned man had mentioned two days ago. He reiterated it, saying, “Because he was afraid of making his mother sad by seeing his corpse, and yet even when deciding to die, he still had a benevolent heart, maybe that’s why he found the ‘Midsummer Night’s Galaxy.'”
“Doing good deeds for a result is somewhat different from doing good out of instinct.”
From a result standpoint, both do good. But one expects no return, while the other does it for a reward, and intrinsically they are different.
The man received some comfort, touched his hand covered with ugly spots, and chuckled to himself, “If my illness can be cured here, they will definitely be able to cure my child’s disease in the future.”
Xu Huo returned to his original spot. Tong Qi hesitated and asked, “Is this instance actually connected to kindness and good actions?”
“Not necessarily,” said Xu Huo, “For players, whether they do good or bad things, the cost is very low; it might not be a reference.”
In the Sea World instance, he cleared it with a high rating because he formed a friendship with an ordinary person. It shows that the game’s criteria for measuring cost can vary from person to person.
“I see,” Tong Qi blinked, “You’re comforting him, aren’t you?”
Xu Huo smiled silently; some people in Zone 013 had been there for a long time, and their journey was nearing its end.